#its so wild that he has a birthday now and that he’s playable

[pachimation]

new year, new you,,,,,,,

ITS SCARA’S BIRTHDAY WHOOOOOOO 🥳🥳 thank you for being born you have infested my thoughts for the last year and a half like a cockroach and i literally cannot get rid of you no matter what i do <3

[monsters-conquer-the-world]

10 Games

For Jack’s 10th birthday, Will got him a RetroPie.  Pretty cool, especially since it’s so easy to just dump a zillion games in there and let the kid go nuts.  But that’s a one-way ticked to analysis paralysis, so Will had a a super sick idea.  He asked me and Jess and some other friends to put together a list of 10 must-play classic/retro games and write a little bit about why we chose them.  As someone who loves video games and writing and lists, I was ALL ‘BOUT THAT.  

Now that Jack’s birthday has come and gone, I can share all the junk I wrote about these ten games that mean so much to me!  Check it out:

I love this idea.  I know the initial prompt was just "pick your favorites" but I couldn't help but impose a bunch of additional caveats. I know where this list is headed (and I have a pretty good idea of what games will pop up on the other lists)!  I could have easily listed off 10 Super NES games or 10 N64 games, but I wanted to hit a variety of consoles and franchises.  I would have liked to have hit a variety of genres and studios too, but I can't lie: I love platformers, and I love games by Nintendo.  It was challenging but rewarding to shave this list down to ten--a lot of old favorites and recent discoveries couldn't fit on the list, leaving these few.  The ones I've always treasured, the ones that stuck with me, the ones I memorized the music and sound effects to, starring the characters I love, exploring the worlds I wanted to live in.  Maybe you'll dig 'em too.

NES

Super Mario Bros. 3

I had spent some quality time with our Atari 2600 well before we ever had an NES in the house. I have fond memories of playing but not really understanding Pac-Man, Haunted House, and the bleak nuclear apocalypse masterpiece Missile Command.  But the first game I really wrapped my head around was Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt, but that's not as relevant!).  Mario and Luigi's multi-screen adventures under a friendly blue sky expanded my concept of what a video game could even be--plus it was super fun, and Rochelle and I could both play it together! Super Mario Bros. 2 was technically more impressive, but so weird (and flanked by so many similar games) that it didn't rock my world like Mario 1 did (though I of course have a huge soft spot for it anyway).   Then Super Mario Bros. 3 came along and Mario had learned how to fly.  It was bigger, more beautiful, and stuffed to the brim with secrets and surprises! It was so exciting even Mom and Dad would play it with us.  Super Mario World is maybe the bigger, better, beautifuler game (and you can ride a FREAKING DINOSAUR), but I'll never forget the day I woke up to find my dad and sister playing this in the living room because we finally owned it.  It was too good to just keep renting! Kid Icarus

I didn't catch Kid Icarus the first time around.  I didn't even play it until high school, but I was inspired to track it down because of my love for Greek mythology and the Metroid series.  Kid Icarus takes place in a world heavily inspired by (but still distinctly different from) the swords, sandals, and sorcery epics of ancient Greece!  It's considered a "sister game" to the original Metroid, released around the same time by the same team, and the game shares a lot of the core elements that make Metroid so unique and awesome: eerily lonely, dangerous worlds to explore, a challenging beginning, player-empowering character growth, and a focus on exploring vast, often vertically-scrolling worlds with satisfying run'n'gun'n'jump gameplay. Kid Icarus borrows all the best stuff from Metroid, but tempers it with a slate of unique design choices: instead of one sprawling world, KI is split into discrete levels.  The first world is an ascent out of Hades with vertically oriented levels, the second world is a horizontal trek across the surface world, the third is another vertical ascent into the sky, and the finale is a horizontal, forced-scrolling shoot-em-up to reclaim the heavens!  Every fourth level is a sprawling, maze-like, Metroid-ish dungeon, capped off with a frantic boss fight!  Plus, Eggplant Wizards, credit cards, and RPG-style character upgrades!  They don't make 'em like this anymore!! Duck Tales

It's not as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros. 1 or as innovative as Super Mario Bros. 3, but that doesn't change the fact that Duck Tales could possibly be my favorite NES platformer of all time. You don't need to know anything about or even like the original cartoon (or the comic books that birthed it) to appreciate the challenging charms of this hop'n'bop classic.  Duck Tales only has a handful of levels, but they're huge, full of hidden treasures, packed with alternate paths, swiss cheesed with secret passageways, and just gorgeous translations of Disney's lush cartoon worlds.   Getting to choose your own path through Duck Tales' roster of big beautiful worlds is reminiscent of the Mega Man games (also by Capcom). What really sets Duck Tales apart is controlling Scrooge.  He's spry for a septuagenarian billionaire, but his real talents lie in swinging and pogo-sticking off his cane!  It's delightful cartoon nonsense, but if you get the hang of it, it's also incredibly satisfying, allowing you to make some wild, death-defying maneuvers.  If you dig this and find yourself hungering for more bounce-centric gameplay, Shovel Knight takes Scrooge's cane, turns it into a shovel, and builds a deeply satisfying modern classic around it.  Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze finally gives Cranky a chance to shine as a playable character, and he straight-up jock's Scrooge's style, cane and all.  It rules.

Super NES

Yoshi's Island

The first thing you'll notice about Yoshi's Island is that it looks like it was drawn with crayons, markers, and colored pencils!  The second thing you'll notice is that Mario is a freaking baby!  It's an odd premise, but it all comes together in perhaps the best sidescroller ever made.  With Mario mustache-less and diaper-clad, this game puts you directly in control of Yoshi, and he is a joy to play as.  Hovering to extend his jump power, turning enemies into eggs and chucking them, and butt-stomping are Yoshi's primary tools of the trade, and they mix things up nicely.  This doesn't feel like "just another Mario," but it also feels right at home in the Mario pantheon. Beyond the Yosh-man's most basic maneuvers, there are some wild power-ups that turn Yoshi into a helicopter, a train that zips along in the background, a mole-tank, and more, plus special areas where Baby Mario gets superpowers and runs up walls and stuff!  Yoshi's Island is another magical micro-world, jam-packed with extremely clever and fun level design and very possibly the biggest and best boss fights of all time.   Ya gotta play this one.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest

I know I just talked about Yoshi's Island maybe being the best platformer of all time, but Donkey Kong Country 2 is right behind it, nipping at its heels.  DKC2 has a wildly different aesthetic, dropping you into beautifully computer-rendered pirate shipwrecks, janky-but-glitzy night time carnival rides, endless bramble patches, a skyscraper-sized beehive, haunted forests, and more!  They're not just beautiful to look at, but beautiful to listen to, because DKC2 features one of the all-time greatest video game soundtracks.  Maybe the greatest.  But this game ain't just another pretty face!

DKC2, like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Duck Tales, is stuffed to the gills with tricky little secrets and hidden areas and surprises.  This game doesn't just have secret levels, it has a secret WORLD.  This game doesn't just have a secret world, it has an entire secret ENDING.  The classically solid platforming is accompanied by a wealth of mine cart challenges, awesome animal buddies, mini-games, and enough level design variety to keep you coming back for every last hidden treasure.  

Super Metroid

Super Metroid doesn't just have secrets, it has mysteries.  This was the first game to ever actually scare me. The first one to ever creep me out.  And that just made me want to play it even more.  It feels lonely and dangerous.  Unlike the games earlier on this list, it is one HUGE and continuous world.  It is a world of incomprehensible alien horrors, ancient moldering ruins, and high-tech space-faring bio-terrorists.  This world, named Zebes, is a world where the sky continuously rains acid and almost every living thing inhabiting it wants to kill you.  Good thing you're Samus Aran, the toughest, smartest bounty hunter to ever clean up Space Pirate scum!

Samus explores this acid-drenched nightmare planet by running, gunning, and jumping... but also by solving puzzles and thinking her way out of traps.  With each power up she gets a little stronger, and can find her way deeper into this gnashing alien hellscape.  It's a game that is sadly beautiful just as often as it is ghoulish.  The story, simple and sketched-in as it is, is also deeper and more moving than you will ever expect. The boss fights are as massive, memorable, and epic as the ones in Yoshi's Island, but about a thousand times more intense and frightening.  The music perfectly sets the dark, burbling mood of each region of Zebes, and by the end of the game you will feel like the most powerful hero in the galaxy.  This mix of sci-fi, horror, and adventure isn't just a must-play, it's a life-changer.

Gameboy Color

Wario Land II

I love the Mario series, but I'm also absolutely crazy about Wario.  He's a fat, greedy, chaotic, prideful, disgusting, bull-headed oaf.  He's the polar opposite of Mario... and that's why I love him!  He's not exactly a villain, but he's a definitely a troublemaker, and it is hilariously fun to walk (or stumble!) a mile or three in his shoes.  The game before this, Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land is a ton of fun (as is Super Mario Land 2 before it!), but Wario Land II is the first one that truly feels like a Wario game.  What makes this game so different?  Wario can't be killed!

You read that right, there's (almost) no way to actually "die" in this game!  No way to lose lives.  That might sound too easy, or boring, or both, but it's not!  Wario might be unkillable, but all KINDS of bad stuff can and WILL still happen to him.  A LOT.  He'll get flattened, set on fire, trapped in bubbles, fattened up, frozen, drunk, zombified, and more!  And here's the kicker: those wacky conditions are required to solve the puzzles and challenges of each level!  On top of that ingenious and perfectly wacky set of game mechanics, the story branches off in wildly different directions: you'll blow up the annoying alarm clock in your castle, play street basketball against a giant bunny, be nice to a chicken, visit Atlantis, race through a weird world of mouths, noses, and eyes, and more!  There are multiple endings, multiple hidden exits, and multiple secret treasures and minigames to find and conquer.  Almost all of the Wario Land and Wario Ware games are oddball masterpieces, but WLII is the perfect balance of weird, smart, funny, and challenging.

Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64

This is it.  This is the game.  In 1996, when I was in sixth grade, Super Mario 64 was the only thing I cared about.  I begged and wished and hoped for a Nintendo 64 that Christmas, but it didn't come.  I was crushed.  Occasionally I was able to rent an N64 and Super Mario 64, and I'd lose whole days to this magical, miraculous game.  When I couldn't rent it, I'd bug my classmates about it endlessly.  "What level are you on?  What's that level like?  What stars can you get?  What secrets have you found?"  They'd answer a few of my ravenous, bug-eyed questions before getting uncomfortable and leaving to do something else.  What was the big deal? Why was I (and still am) so obsessed?

The leap from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 was like the leap from console and computer games to virtual reality.  But instead of short, funny minigames, it is a huge, sprawling world where anything seems possible.  A magical, secret garden full of surprises, wonder, challenges, and secrets.  Where the sun always shines in a cloudless sky... except when you plunge into the death-defying Bowser levels or the inappropriately terrifying Big Boo's Haunt.  Oh Mario can definitely fly in this one like he did in Super Mario Bros. 3, but just the simple act of running around in circles and jumping through 3D space felt like a joyous miracle... one that puts 2-dimensional flight to shame.  Each world (accessed by jumping INTO paintings in Princess Peach's sprawling but empty castle) is colorful, full of possibility, and chock full of distinct personality.  Adventuring through 3D space for the first time ever was incredible on its own, but doing it in such richly detailed, lovingly crafted worlds made me want to play there forever.  I still do. 

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Take everything I just said about Super Mario 64 and multiply it by ten!  Well, sort of.  Ocarina of Time took the lessons learned from Super Mario 64 and applied them to the dungeon-crawling, puzzle-solving Legend of Zelda series.  The result was an incredibly groundbreaking game that I cherished almost as zealously as Super Mario 64.  I don't think it's aged as well, but I don't care.  Ocarina of Time is a grand story, spanning seven years (!!!) and the entire fantastical country of Hyrule.  As Link, you jump forward and back through time, meet strange and wonderful new friends, discover hidden kingdoms, face the blood-soaked evil of Hyrule's past, save its future, outwit cunning puzzles and traps, steal and ride a magnificent horse, challenge towering, Super Metroid-style end bosses, wield magical weapons, break hearts, play beautiful music, and go fishing.  It's an entire, epic fantasy life in one little cartridge. 

This was the first Zelda game I ever spent SERIOUS time with, and the fact that it plays like a fantasy-fueled hybrid of Super Mario 64 and Super Metroid means I've lost entire days to it.  I've played it start to finish at least 8 or 9 times.  It never gets boring. Like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time invented how we make and play 3D games.  This was the first 3D game where you could lock onto enemies and points of interest, plus a bevy of other camera controls that come standard in 3D games now (or at least they did for about a decade after Ocarina's release). The story is surprisingly cinematic and even gripping at times.  You'll want to live in this world.  You'll be sad when you see the end credits.  Not because of the ending itself, but because there's no more game for you to play... until you start it all over again on the next save file.  

Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64 was a life-changing event for me, just like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time.  So is Star Fox 64 a slow-paced, exploration heavy adventure into beautiful and fantastical solitude like those other two games?  N O P E.  It's a guns-blazin', fast action, dogfightin', barrel rollin', rock'em sock'em intergalactic action epic in supersonic spaceships!  Piloted by talking animals!  That actually talk!  YES!

Instead of the wide-open freedom of Super Mario 64 and  Ocarina of TIme, Star Fox 64 either puts you on (invisible) rails in a forced-scrolling attack run or in a contained 3D arena.  Here's the kicker though, the levels are all so perfectly designed and the action is so expertly paced that you never feel restricted.  You're too busy racking up kill combos, saving your wingmen, and navigating through flying, burning space debris and buildings and asteroids and terrain to think about what you can't do.  And even on rails, Star Fox 64 gives you ways to explore!  Most levels have multiple exits and there are a whole mess of different, branching paths through the entire, war-torn Lylat system.  The game is designed to be played start to finish in a single sitting, but experimenting with repeat playthroughs is the only way to experience everything this laser-blazing action classic has to offer.  On top of all that, it's got a great story, iconic, meme-worthy dialogue, and an absolutely banging soundtrack.  It might not have changed the face of interactive entertainment like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, but it delivered the ultimate shoot'em up space adventure.  

[ruffoverthinksthings]

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Claudine/Frollo headcannons, do you have any in mind for Esmeralda/Phoebus? If the sequel movies are wiped from this universe, that means their son doesn't exist (or not yet). Also, do you have another headcannon for onesided fresme on frollo's part? How would he handle being unable to obtain her in this universe?

Ilike to believe the sequels and spin-offs are valid, as the bookseries (which is, as of the Rise of the Isle of the Lost, is canon…to a certain extent) makes reference to characters that could onlyexist outside of the original movies, such as:

Diegode Vil, presumably the child of Ivy de Vil from the 101 DalmatiansTV series, or a descendant from the rest of the extended de Vilfamily, and

Jade,Jay’s cousin and presumably the daughter of Nasira, Jafar’ssister from the Aladdin video game series

There’sa level of personal bias, with the amount of work I’ve already putinto expanding the world with my own ideas, but I think we can allagree that the Isle and Auradon would be a whole lot less interestingif we didn’t have the likes of:

Mozenrath(Aladdin animated series) acting as Maleficent’s longsuffering middle manager, and personal chew toy as an “inferiormagical being,”

LadyWaltham (Tarzan animated series) adding an element of sympathyto the Isle of the Lost with her regretting her brother Clayton andher nephew are still on there and unable to return, and

LadyCaine (Tangled: Before Ever After), who adds a deliciouselement of grayness and a MASSIVE stain on the otherwise pristinereputation all sympathetic Disney monarchs have.

Ontothe headcanons:

Phoebusbecomes one of the new Captains of the Guard in France once theoriginal forces are merged with, or completely replaced by the newlyestablished Auradon Royal Guard. Though the actual administrative andexecutive power lies much higher up the ranks (such as theCommander-In-Chief, Beast), he himself is an incredibly influentialmember, well-known and well-loved by the citizenship and the fellowsoldiers he patrols the streets with.

Auradonhad to rely heavily on translators, human and machine, or translatingmagic during its tumultuous first years, as everyone struggled tofind one common language for every state to use as the internationalstandard (it’s English still). A LOT of things get lost intranslation or don’t translate too good into another language, orsomeone gets VERY offended when someone who is fluent in both Frenchand Chinese tells you exactly what they meant, and howunflattering it is.

Andthis isn’t even going into all the numerous cultural clashes andfaux paus, such as one unfortunate Louisiana chef realizing you’renot supposed to serve pork to most Agrahbans until he was alreadyuncovering the dish...

Phoebusbridges the gap through his calm, professional demeanor, alwaysshowing politeness and civility to everyone whoever they may be, andof course, his sense of humour, given “a real workout” when hehas to figure out how to make someone laugh with universallyunderstood comedy (someone falling face first into a pile of horsedung), non-verbal humour (wearing a silly, pink, fuzzy bunny earswhilst on duty), and using simple plays on word that foreigners caneasily get, or are tailored specifically to their language.

“Inever quite realized eggs could be such a huge source of humour,”he muses when he has to speak to Spanish speaking citizens.

However,his usefulness quickly dwindled as the culture clashes settled down,people started learning English, and of course, the already olderPhoebus found himself growing ever older and unable to keep up withthe rapid pace of advancement and pop culture references in Auradon,not to mention his disadvantage of “not being gifted a smartphonefor my first birthday.”

Hehas an incredibly cushy administrative position that pays well,commands respect from his soldiers still, and gives him great hoursto spend with his family and other pursuits, but as he’s no longergoing out (or being allowed) on patrols and interacting personallywith the people in his jurisdiction, he can’t help but wonder ifhe’s just being eased into the idea of retirement, and Auradon issimply too nice to boot him for the much feared “chainsaw HR” ofsome corporations from BGU London.

(Forthose not familiar with the term, “chainsaw HR” is when entiredivisions, and numbers into the hundreds are suddenly, and oftentimeswithout proper recompense or retirement packages, fired or forcedinto early retirement.

It’sa play on the term “axed” for being suddenly fired, and chainsawsbeing a modern, much more efficient tool for the same job as aliteral ax.)

It’ssafe to say that at the age of 55 or so, and having already lived oneillustrious career then a brief revival, he’s having a midlifecrisis, not helped by the fact that many other Auradonians about hisage are feeling as obsolete as last year’s ayGem.

(“Butit came out just a year ago!”

“Yeah,but they updated to a new, much better firmware and hardwarearchitecture, all the hot new apps don’t even bother with legacyupdates.”)

Esmerelda has fared much better.

Shehas become an activist in this world, using the power of theinternet, the normalization of the “other,” and the erasure ofthe national and ethnic boundaries that once separated communities tohelp her fellow Romani people (I won’t use “gypsies,” as that’san offensive term to them), and other marginalized, and forgottengroups, such as much of the Wild Fae population.

Shealso owns and teaches at a dance studio, using them to train the nextgeneration of performers (“Be they for the street, the stage, orthe screen”), and waging a subtle campaign to remove the stigma forblatant and shameless use of sexuality.

I’vealways known Auradon is a conservative wet dream in many respects,and the fact that ripping a tiny tear in your skirt is considered“scandalous” by teenagers says a lot.

Beforeyou ask, YES, Esmerelda is still as desired and lusted afternow as she was BGU—probably even more so, now that we have thecombined populations of all the states, and she is a very popular andcommon presence on the internet.

Beforeyou also ask, Phoebus has long gotten over it and considers it “partof the package.”

Sheis one of the most knowledgeable and well-versed with moderntechnology out of the “Travellers” (Auradonians who were adultsor close to it Before Great Uniting), seeing as her troupe ofperformers have always been highly adaptable and all to ready to dowhatever it takes to survive, fit in with the locale they have foundthemselves in, and afterwards, thrive.

Thatthey have generally relied on being couriers and brokers ofinformation, and the internet basically being a giant free market ofinformation has helped GREATLY.

Withher religion, she still isn’t 100% on the existence of God, onlyever praying to Him during times of crisis or as a show of good faithwith the religious institutions of Auradon, but the Greek Pantheonhas given her hope that Supreme Beings like Him do exist.

“Atthe very least, He’s been very light on throwing down lightningbolts from up on high.”

(Thoughmuch less murderous and many other negative traits than the original,Disney Zeus is still INCREDIBLY fond of “warning shots.”)

Andonce more, before you ask, I can seriously see her making a cameo inthe canon as a guest dance instructor for the Descendants, if sheisn’t already a full-time staff member of Auradon Prep, and yes,she would definitely mentor Evie by showing her much healthier waysof expressing her sexuality and femininity without feeling like she’sdegrading herself, or turning herself into a “slab of meat in thebutcher’s window.”

Zephyrwas born BGU, and if my idea that the states had been communicatingfor a few years before the idea of fusing is canon, has a veryunique perspective of being a “Traveler Tot,” living with theideas and concepts imported over through the portals andcommunication crystals, before he got to live it in Auradon when thetechnology and materials could be more easily accessed and produced.

Heis still hyperactive and excitable as ever, though most of that wasbeing channeled into a combination of soldier training and becoming acircus performer like his parents; in his mind, there really isn’tmuch difference between the two, as they both require incrediblephysical skill and endurance, a sharp and creative mind, andrelentless, dedicated training, day-in, day-out.

“Itall really comes down to what you mean when you say you ‘slayedthem,’” he says.

Thisquickly changes in Auradon when he finds himself addicted to HeroRising, the video game that Carlos was seen playing during hisfirst night in Auradon. While initially Phoebus sees it as a good wayfor him to blow off all his excess energy and get some physicaltraining done, and Esmerelda tolerates it as he’s not going offstealing and rearranging stop signs, it evolves into something muchmore for him in time.

Atfirst, he’s the best player on the block, then in theneighbourhood, then the school, then the city, then the state, andfinally, one of the Hall of Famers in Auradon. As he grows older, hejust barely passes his high school subjects as a conditional for hissponsors support and working with the Hero Rising developersas a PR person, community idol AKA a “Paragon,” and beta tester.The height of his fame and success comes when the latest release,Hero Rising: The Lost Legion, features a new playablecharacter based off of him, and his unique dance-like fighting style:

“Twister.”

Trueto the name, his life is sent into a spin cycle after that.

Afew years pass, a new Hero Rising is released, and everyone isgushing over the new characters, and Twister gives up his place onthe cover art alongside the series “cornerstones” to give them achance to shine.

NewParagons are brought in as the old guard goes off to college, retiresfrom the business into different, less-demanding pursuits, or isquietly given a send-off as they simply aren’t as salable nor asgood as they were a few years ago.

Zephyrquickly realizes that while he’s still got it, these new kids areinsane, and have so many advantages he didn’t, like muchbetter nutrition, a much more generous school schedule, and havingthe infrastructure, the audience, and the sponsors for Hero RisingParagons already there, rather than helping spearhead them.

Hecontinues on, making less and less public appearances, awkwardlybeing one of the only adult Paragons in crowds increasingly filledwith little kids and teenagers, and new characters based off the newParagons get the spotlight.

“Everyonealready knows Twister, and played him to death in all the specialinstance maps, the players want someone new!”

Thedeath-knell of his career and the cold, hard slap from Reality comeswhen Twister is removed from the roster due to development costs, andthe fact that Zephyr’s fees and royalties were considered too highfor the relatively lower cost of a new, fresh face who the fans aremuch more eager to see digitized.

Heand Phoebus both find themselves facing obsolescence, being leftbehind by a world that has simply moved too fast for them and leftthem in its dust, as they were only ever good at one thing each:fighting, either real bad guys or fictional ones.

Andso, with Esmerelda’s love and support, the two go off to reeducatethemselves and train in the new industries and careers Auradondemands, incidentally becoming the inspiration for the blockbusterfeel good movie of eight years from this time of writing:

“WithHonours”

Thestory of how a father and son went back to college, forced to startfrom scratch in a brand new world, learning new tricks, makingstrange friends, and doing a whole lot of growing up they didn’tknow they still needed to do.

Nowonto Frollo:

Helaments his permanent loss of Esmerelda (unlike the other Villains,he harbours no fantasies of Claudine getting him off the Isle—notwhen there’s still so much Good Work to be done here in this landof Sinners and Nonbelievers), and takes the disastrous results of hisobsession and lusting after her as a cautionary tale, the catastrophethat befalls those who turn away from God and the Right Path, and howthey take the whole world down with them.

Publicly,he is “that” preacher yelling about modesty, the sanctity ofmarriage and sexuality, and how pretty much everyone on theIsle is damned for engaging in such scandalous, salacious acts likepremarital sex, sexual intercourse without the intention ofprocreation, and of course, homosexuality.

Privately,he seeks a form of redemption by raising a good, Christian child inClaudine, the child he would have born with Esmerelda and raised ifcircumstances had been different (yeee-eep), and is looking for awoman with whom he can have a much healthier relationship with, toshow someone from this Isle what marriage and the word “love”truly means than the perversion the Islanders have turned it into.

Asboth Claudine and Not Esmerelda will attest to, he’s failedmiserably on both counts, but as usual, is blissfully unaware ofeither.

[entergamingxp]

When Sony shut down a promising LittleBigPlanet PC fan-game, its creators scrambled to save the project • Eurogamer.net

In 2008, Media Molecule launched its debut game LittleBigPlanet. The idea behind the ambitious project was to make a game where players could create their own stages and share them with a community of players, or as the tagline more succinctly puts it: “Play, Create, Share.”

Upon its release, LittleBigPlanet received almost unanimous acclaim from critics, becoming one of Sony’s most interesting exclusives for the PlayStation 3. But two sequels and several spinoffs later, the series has become somewhat dormant, with the lack of support frustrating the most dedicated fans.

Media Molecule appears to have put the series largely behind it, focusing its attention on its latest passion project, another creation game called Dreams. Meanwhile, those who are still playing LittleBigPlanet 3, the third game in the series developed by Sumo Digital, are reporting persistent problems with corrupted profiles and other glitches that are driving the community away. Problems that have led to some players posting tips on Reddit to avoid limiting the damage done. Things were looking grim for LittleBigPlanet fans. That was, until late 2019, when there was a beacon of hope.

In November 2019, Trixel Creative, a community of creators developing content for games such as The Sims 4, Dreams and LittleBigPlanet, announced LittleBigPlanet Restitched, a PC fan-game that would bring back Sackboy for another set of community-crafted adventures. But, as is the case for most fan-produced projects, it was shut down shortly after its exciting announcement, with Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe issuing a cease and desist via email in January 2020.

We reached out to the team at Trixel Creative a day before Sony sent this email for a feature that was originally going to be about the project’s announcement. But after hearing the news, we wanted to find out what happened instead, how far the team got with the project, and why the developers dedicated the best part of a year to trying to revive the LittleBigPlanet series.

LittleBigPlanet Restitched, as it was in November 2019.

For most members of Trixel Creative, LittleBigPlanet wasn’t just a game, it was a second home. Most of the developers we spoke to said they were younger than 10 when the first game came out. Some of them met their best friends playing LittleBigPlanet and credit it with having led to careers in programming, the arts and graphic design.

“I grew up with LittleBigPlanet from a young age,” says Halston Stephenson, a US-based member of the Trixel Creative team who had worked on the project. “I was around eight or nine-years-old when it came out, and I always played it on a cousin’s PS3. About a year or so later I got my own PS3 as a birthday present, and I immediately knew which game to get. From there it was love at first sight.”

“LittleBigPlanet made me realise from a young age that making games was something anyone could do,” says Ethan Hanbury, another member of the Trixel Creative team, based in the UK. “There were so many of us who would communicate through fan-forums and work on in-game projects together. I still talk to so many people I originally met through the LBP community and it’s crazy to see what everyone has moved on to do. I’m currently in my final year studying computer animation as a 3D artist hoping to join the games industry for myself once I graduate in the summer.”

“I discovered LittleBigPlanet when I was around eight-years-old,” Julian Treveri, another Trixel Creative member from the US, tells me. “A neighbour showed it to me and I immediately started to beg my parents for a PlayStation and a copy of the game. I was totally addicted to creating things with it. I’d spend a lot of time lost in my own little world. Maybe a little too much time.”

The prototype for stickers in LittleBigPlanet Restitched.

LittleBigPlanet Restitched came about when Treveri discovered an open-source code library called ClipperLib and its function to manipulate shapes by cutting and adding. Throwing it into Unity, he built a small prototype where players could paint and erase 3D shapes, similar to the create mode seen in the LittleBigPlanet games.

“The folks at Trixel had been wanting to build a LittleBigPlanet fan game for a while,” Treveri explains. “When they saw this very rough framework for one, they asked if I had any interest in building a LittleBigPlanet fan-game with them, and I said yes!”

From there, the project entered development in early 2019 with the first four months focused on creating concepts, stickers, and implementing the user interface. Eventually, more members were brought on board, growing the team to 20 developers in total. This larger group started building the framework for the create mode, developing the player controls, physics, and a material creation system.

The plan was to create an experience that got fans of the series excited and talking about LittleBigPlanet again. Although, because of their inability to crowdfund out of fear of sparking a cease and desist from Sony, the project would have to make some compromises, such as looking into alternatives to online servers to provide players with a co-op experience.

“Everything started to come together after we had all worked separately for a few months, and it was magical,” says Stephenson. “We compiled a build for our reveal trailer to be recorded in and, although it was buggy (as to be expected for such an early build), it all materialised pretty quickly. It was a strange yet welcome feeling to be playing LBP on PC, and it worked and felt a lot better than I think some of us expected it to!”

Aware of the shaky legal territory they were wading into, the team got in touch with Media Molecule’s community manager from the outset and were given some advice and guidelines. Among the tips they were given was to clearly communicate that the project was fan-made, so players would know it was not an official product of any kind. This meant putting a disclaimer in the logo itself to avoid confusion. They were also told to avoid crowdfunding for the game to ensure the project was entirely not-for-profit.

In spite of these precautions, a cease and desist arrived on the morning of Friday, 17th January 2020 in Trixel Creative’s inbox, as well as the personal inbox of one of its members. It was an email – perhaps an inevitable one – that put a swift end to the project.

The prevailing reaction among the team seems to be bafflement. Not only because Sony had managed to contact a team member who hadn’t made their email account widely available, but also because the team were aware of several other LittleBigPlanet fan projects that were seemingly unaffected. The cease and desist stated the reason for the take-down was “commercialisation” of the project, which caused even more confusion among the team.

In December 2019, Trixel Creative excitedly announced LittleBigPlanet Restitched. A month later it was no more.

Was there a degree of naivety among the developers of LittleBigPlanet Restitched, a fangame that, whatever Media Molecule staff may have thought about it, used a Sony trademark and intellectual property without an licence agreement? Perhaps. Nevertheless, the developers now say they understand the move, believing the project’s potential release on PC was likely an influence on Sony’s decision to call in the laywers.

“We always knew it was ultimately up to Sony’s legal department to protect their IP, and rightfully so,” comments Stephenson. “[Although], the takedown was a bit of a surprise for us, considering the support we’d been shown from PlayStation-employed developers and the original creators of the IP, Media Molecule, who helped to support and livestream the reveal of the project during our Tri-Expo 2019 event.”

“I was actually working on LBP Restitched as part of my final major collab project for university,” adds Hanbury. “So it was a bit surreal when I had to explain to my lecturers that it had been taken down by Sony’s legal team.”

“We love and respect LittleBigPlanet and its developers, and we definitely aren’t upset at Sony’s legal actions,” insists Stephenson. “We respect them highly, and they are simply protecting their intellectual property. If LittleBigPlanet were already on PC, then this might have been a different story entirely. In any case, we’re all huge fans of the LittleBigPlanet franchise and can’t wait to see where Sony will take it next.”

LittleBigPlanet 3 is officially playable on PC – via streaming subscription service PlayStation Now.

The team quickly set about scrubbing all mention of the fan-game from their website and decided to retool the project into something original. This new game is to be a user-generated content game in the same spirit as LittleBigPlanet, but with its own characters and visual identity. As to what this visual identity looks like, the team are reluctant to reveal too much.

“I would like this project to be what Parkitect is to RollerCoaster Tycoon,” explains Thomas Voets, a Netherlands-based member of Trixel Creative. “A fresh, new take that modernises some stuff, but keeps the charm of the original largely intact, creating a fresh yet familiar experience. On a personal level, as a music creator, I want to make as many songs for the project as I can, so that people can really go wild with theming their levels.”

“The programmers are eager to use the foundation we’ve made in our new, original UGC game,” says Stephenson. “They’ve sunk several months into creating the setup for the user interface, lighting system, mesh editing for level creation, and player movement.

“We are looking at various UGC titles as a source of inspiration for many aspects of the game, but overall we want it to be something original while still capturing the essence of LittleBigPlanet that we all fell in love with. With this being a new title free from the constraints of strict legal guidelines and community expectations, a lot of opportunities are now open for us to create new content and mechanics. Who knows what you might see?”

We reached out to Sony as well as Media Molecule’s Mark Healey, one of the co-creators of LittleBigPlanet, for comment. Sony has yet to respond, but Healey offered some nice words of encouragement to the team.

“It’s great that LBP is so loved, and obviously I wish the team the best of luck with their future project/s,” Healey says. “I love that LBP and Dreams can be a conduit for creators and teams to come together, blossom and break into new exciting circles, so maybe this story is that story.”

While fans of the project may be disappointed by the news of LittleBigPlanet Restitched’s cancellation, the prospect of a new game in the same style is an exciting one. LittleBigPlanet played a huge part in the lives of so many players growing up, and hopefully whatever Trixel is cooking up can create that same sense of community and inspire a new generation to keep the dream alive.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/02/when-sony-shut-down-a-promising-littlebigplanet-pc-fan-game-its-creators-scrambled-to-save-the-project-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-sony-shut-down-a-promising-littlebigplanet-pc-fan-game-its-creators-scrambled-to-save-the-project-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[kayawagner]

12 Titles, for 12%, for 12 Days [BUNDLE]

Publisher: Skirmisher Publishing

This special bundle product contains the following titles.

100 Oddities for a Hung Stocking Regular price: $0.99 Bundle price: $0.12 Format: Watermarked PDF This "100 Oddities" holiday mini-sourcebook will only be available until the end of the holiday season!  When the holiday season comes around why shouldn’t the heroes in your campaign get in on the action?Why not roll up a few random treats and tricks using this table of random items, any of which might be found in a stocking hung over the fireplace, a goody bag at a birthday party, a bucket of Halloween candy, or any other time when gifts are in the offing?  Oddities are intended to aid storyteller creativity, turning possibly bland areas or gaming episodes into something more, and the goal of this publication is to make things more fun and to take your imagination in directions it might not otherwise have gone. They fill in the corners of a bookshelf, a room, a level... 100 Oddities for an Enchanted Forest Regular price: $1.49 Bundle price: $0.18 Format: PDF Welcome to "100 Oddities for an Enchanted Forest," the eighth entry in Skirmisher Publishing’s popular "Oddities" series! This publication includes 100 unique things characters might encounter in a sylvan setting and includes guidelines for introducing the Wild Hunt into your game sessions or stories.  Your characters are traveling from one region to another, such as from the keep they call home to a distant ruin, a frontier outpost, a battlefield, or the like. Making their way through the forest that lies between their point of origin and destination can be a simple matter of a couple of nights camping out and an encounter with a wandering monster ... or it could be so much more.  Oddities are intended to aid storyteller creativity, turning possibly bland areas or gam... Communities (City Builder Volume 1) Regular price: $2.99 Bundle price: $0.35 Format: PDF City Builder Volume 1: Communities is the first in a series of 11 complementary books that will help guide Game Masters through the process of designing exciting and compelling urban areas and places within them for their campaigns. It is not specific to any particular game setting and is designed to be compatible with the needs of any ancient, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance, or fantasy milieu.  Contents of this book include: An Introduction that describes the scope of the series and the contents of the upcoming volumes; A section on the Characteristics of Communities that examines small communities, towns, cities, and special-purpose communities like military bases and plantations, along with regional and racial influences on the development of communities; A sec... Dwarves: Tokens & Avatars for Virtual Tabletops Regular price: $1.49 Bundle price: $0.18 Format: Watermarked PDF This set of 20 full-color tokens and avatars/character portraits by fantasy artist Amanda Kahl contains two variations on five different figures, a Champion, Infantryman, Crossbowman, Goat Rider, and Goat. One variation has blue armor and square markings on their shields, while the other has red armor and circular shield devices, and these alternate versions can be used to easily reflect different factions, levels, and/or capabilities.  These tokens and avatars are system-free and can be used for any sort of fantasy roleplaying games and in a wide variety of virtual tabletop programs, including the popular Roll20 interface. Avatars and man-sized tokens are 300 x 300 pixels and formatted to conform to 1-inch squares, while the size-large cavalry tokens are 600 x 600 pixels and des... H.G. Wells’ Floor Games Regular price: $3.74 Bundle price: $0.44 Format: PDF Often referred to as a companion volume to H.G. Wells’ wargaming classic Little Wars, Floor Games is a republication of "the Father of Miniature Wargaming’s" first volume devoted to recreational gaming. Highlights include a lighthearted, often humorous discussion on the theory and methodology behind a wide variety of "floor" and tabletop games and tips on the use and creation of improvised models, terrain, and other gaming props.  Skirmisher’s edition of Floor Games is divided into a Foreword, an Introduction, and four chapters: I) "The Toys to Have"; II) "The Game of the Wonderful Islands"; III) "Of the Building of Cities"; and IV) "Funiculars, Marble Towers, Castles, and War Games, But Very Little of War Games." Other features include: Foreword by reno... Insults & Injuries: A Pathfinder Sourcebook for Medical Maladies Regular price: $10.49 Bundle price: $1.24 Format: PDF You have never read a game book quite like this one! Written by a practicing medical doctor, Insults & Injuries presents real world illnesses in Pathfinder game terms. Why afflict characters with “filth fever” when you can give them rabies, the black plague, or the flu? Within this sourcebook, you will find dozens of sicknesses that your players already know and fear in a format that allows them to be easily and realistically brought into your games. You will also find expanded rules for more effective non-magical healing. This detailed book is divided into an introduction, 14 chapters, and six appendices and includes: * Rules for more than 50 diseases and disorders, their game effects, and how they can be treated by both mundane and magical means. * A chapt... Krampus & His Minions (Five Monsters for BASH) Regular price: $0.74 Bundle price: $0.09 Format: PDF This title contains five fully-stat'ed monsters for the BASH superhero roleplaying game that Game Masters can use individually or in conjunction with one another as villains! It is fully illustrated with custom images by game industry artist William T. Thrasher.  Krampus is Saint Nicholas’ evil opposite-number and, where Santa rewards good children with presents, his nemsis presents bad ones with lumps of coal, beats them with birch switches, throws them in chains, and drags them off to the underworld. Krampus is depicted as large and bestial, with horns and fangs that enhance his devilish aspect. In addition to the boss monster himself, this publication contains four sorts of minions to help him achieve his ends, including Evilized Orphanage Officials (EOOs), an Evil ... Little Orc Wars: Dwarf Soldiery (Cardstock CharactersTM) Regular price: $1.49 Bundle price: $0.18 Format: PDF This set of downloadable Cardstock CharactersTM miniatures contains three variations on five different figures, a Champion, Infantryman, Crossbowman, Goat Rider, and War Goat. These figures were designed initially for both the tabletop and video versions of the H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars miniatures game but are the ideal addition to any sort of tabletop fantasy RPG or wargame. They can be used to enhance encounters or even serve as the basis for them and the different variations can also be used to easily reflect different levels and capabilities. One of the factions even has blank shields that can easily be customized.  We hope you and your players will enjoy battling with them! ... Skirmish! Regular price: $2.99 Bundle price: $0.32 Format: PDF Skirmish! is a quick-to-learn, easy-to-set up game of combat that can played using almost any miniature figures to simulate small-scale battles. It is intended for both veteran and novice players and is simple enough to be a beginner's first wargame and versatile and expandable enough to satisfy more experienced gamers — especially those who want to pull some of their old toy soldiers out of a footlocker or the closet and use them in a game.<o:p></o:p> Skirmish! is designed for simplicity and playability. All that is needed to play Skirmish! are some miniature figures, a ruler or tape measure, and three standard, 6-sided dice. The basic rules can be read, a handful of soldiers selected, and a game set up in about 20 minutes, and in much less time than that for... The Jester Dragon's Random Tavern Generator Regular price: $0.74 Bundle price: $0.09 Format: Watermarked PDF Every successful adventure begins and ends in a tavern. 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Price: $33.88 12 Titles, for 12%, for 12 Days [BUNDLE] published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[kaiserdingus]

The Return of Classic Sonic - Part 2 - Sonic Generations/Sonic CD

Over the past couple of years, and especially recently with the release of Sonic Mania, we’ve seen a resurgence in media depicting the classic version of Sonic the Hedgehog from the 1990’s. He’s shorter, he’s voiceless, and he represents a simpler time in video games from before voice acting and cinematic cutscenes.

In recent games he’s been offered as an alternative to the modern aesthetic and play-style that’s been the standard since Sonic Adventure. How did we get to this point? How has Sonic changed over the years, and why are there now two Sonics?

In this series I plan to observe the time period in Sonic history where SEGA decided to shake things up and make what was once old new again. This is The Return of Classic Sonic.

Sonic Generations

In April of 2011, after the success of Sonic Colors and lukewarm reception of Sonic 4 Episode I, Sega announced Sonic Generations. A new game made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise featuring modern Sonic teaming up with classic Sonic on a time traveling adventure where we revisit old levels remixed for both modern and classic playstyles. Sonic 4 might’ve been an easily forgettable snooze fest, but after how great Sonic Colors wound up being there was confidence in Sonic Team again. This was one of the definitive hype moments of the Sonic fandom.

To prove they weren’t bluffing with this game, and perhaps to gauge fan insight, Sega released a playable demo of the game on June 23rd, 2011, aka Sonic’s birthday. The game wouldn’t launch until November, but now fans could spend the next two weeks playing the classic Sonic version of Green Hill Zone. It was obviously a demo of a game still in development, but I knew it was going to be good. Sonic was back, and this time no werehogs or swords or any gimmick.

For Sonic Unleashed, the excuse as to why they forced the player to become the slow, clunky werehog for several 20 minute levels was to make the game longer, since the 2D day stages took a long time to produce. They ditched that idea in Sonic Colors by replacing the werehog with shorter stages in-between longer stages. For Generations, they made optional missions for each stage. Classic Sonic could be argued as filler, as his stages wouldn’t need to be as complicated as Modern Sonic. That could be a solid argument for Sonic Forces (which we’ll talk about later), but I feel that Classic Sonic felt important to Generations rather than something shamelessly tacked on.

Generations was released in November of 2011 and it was amazing. Finally, a Sonic the Hedgehog game that felt like it was prepared with love and care. It was a love letter to the series, as well as to the fans. At least, that’s how it was marketed.

Time and age have made me cynical, and I admit I was excited as hell for Sonic Generations when it was announced up to its release. I played it, I loved it, I still revisit it every year. But now I can safely admit that the game was not perfect.

The biggest argument, which nobody would’ve really picked up on if it wasn’t for Sonic 4, is Classic Sonic’s physics. Sonic 4’s god awful physics have made fans keen to pay attention to how every Sonic game plays now, and Generations definitely has better classic physics than Sonic 4, but it still doesn’t come close to the feeling of momentum you experience when playing the classic games. Sonic Team’s excuse is that they were building Classic Sonic off of the ground work they had for Modern Sonic, and so they couldn’t implement exact Genesis physics. Either way, the level design and less-than-stellar physics keep me from proclaiming this as the second coming of Sonic.

Except, in a way, it was. The game was released almost a year after Sonic 4 Episode I and was able to make us forget all about it. Sega re-established Classic Sonic as part of the Sonic franchise as a separate character all his own. Though the producers said Generations was simply a one-time thing, and they warned there would be another reboot of Sonic in the near future (cough Sonic Boom), they still showed the fans they were listening. We’d been asking them for years to bring back Classic Sonic in some form or another, and they did it in a way that showed they cared. 

The Classic Sonic shown in Generations, through his design, to his animations, to his lack-of-voice and pantomiming, Sonic Team have crafted a loving interpretation of a character that has had more interpretations than most video game characters. Classic Sonic’s levels were charming. The one’s from the Genesis games were nice to see again in 3D, while the classic variations of Modern Sonic’s levels were a lot of fun.

Generations is probably my favorite Modern Sonic game, as they’ve tweaked some ideas and mechanics from Unleashed and Colors. Of all the “boost” games, this version of Modern Sonic is probably the most fun to control with the best levels. The key to good Modern Sonic gameplay is cinematic levels that make you feel like you’re running through a movie, which can easily be said about Chemical Plant and City Escape.

The boss fights in this game are probably the weakest of the series. Classic Sonic gets a cool re-imagining of the Death Egg Robot from Sonic 2, as well as the race against Metal Sonic from Sonic CD. Modern Sonic, on the other hand, gets Shadow and Silver as mid-bosses, and Perfect Chaos from Sonic Adventure and Egg Dragoon from Sonic Unleashed as area bosses.

The final boss features both Sonics going super before flailing wildly at some wild Eggman creation. For a series famed for its epic boss fights, this was a little disappointing. Boss fights aside, the game itself is really fun, especially for longtime fans of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic CD (2011)

For years fans had wished that Sega would offer a proper release of Sonic CD on a modern console. Unlike the widely re-released Genesis titles, Sonic CD was only ported twice - once to PC, which in turn was ported to the Gamecube and PS2 by way of Sonic Gems Collection. The PC version was good, it even had a higher resolution version of the opening animation, but it still only had the base regional soundtrack with no option to switch to the alternative soundtrack.

In 2009, game developer and Sonic fan Christian Whitehead created a proof-of-concept demo of Sonic CD running on an iPod Touch. This wasn’t a port or emulation, but rather a complete remake of the original game in Whitehead’s new proprietary engine - the Retro Engine. Sega ignored his proposal at first, but once the Sonic fan community caught wind of this remake there was high demand to see it through.

The perfect way to close a successful 20th anniversary, especially after the release of the highly anticipated Sonic Generations, was the re-release of Sonic CD for modern devices. Whitehead’s remake of Sonic CD finally saw the light of day and it immediately stood out. Previous Sega re-releases were poorly done emulations with next to no enhancements, but Sonic CD was loaded with enhancements.

Knowing how Sonic games work like the back of his hand, Whitehead crafted an engine that could successfully recreate the gameplay of classic Sonic games, but also has optional modern features such as full 1080p or 4K HD, smooth 60 frames per second animation, and secrets such as Tails being a fully playable character.

Sonic CD plays exactly as it did 25 years ago, except now there are a few extras. As I mentioned before, Tails is a fully playable character who carries over his moves from Sonic 3. You can unlock Tails by completing the game once with Sonic. There’s also an option to switch between the US soundtrack and the original Japanese soundtrack. One neat little bonus was the option to switch between the Sonic 2 version of the Spin Dash, or stay with Sonic CD’s less… animated version.

Whitehead also hid some more secrets within his enhanced remake of Sonic CD. A mock-up image of a proposed new level called Desert Dazzle was found within the game, as well as a new true final boss called Final Fever. A combination of lack of time and budgetary concerns, as well as the possibility of trying to respect the original game, may have caused these new elements to be scrapped.

Those scrapped levels would eventually lead the fans to speculate about more potential collaborations between Whitehead and Sega. Maybe they would have Whitehead use his Retro Engine to remake obscure games like Knuckles’ Chaotix or SegaSonic the Hedgehog. Its possible they could have him remake the Genesis games for similar releases, or even games from other franchises like Ristar. The biggest pipe dream of them all, though, was Sega hiring Whitehead to make a new, original Sonic game in the classic Sega Genesis style.

Where to Buy

Sonic Generations (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, 3DS)

Sonic CD (Android, PC)

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